How to Raise a Country
by sherlocked-with-no-key
Summary: Frederick II has just taken the throne, but things are still a bit jumbled for the new king. However, when he meets a young boy named Gilbert, who claims to be the embodiment of the country he now rules, all that is about to change. Follow this series of entries as Fritz and Gilbert discover what it means to be a family, and that the price of love is never cheap. PruHun.


**Hello! So this is actually my first shot at a full length fic. I hope you enjoy! No yaoi, just PruHun towards the end. A bit of AusHun but not much. **

**Before you continue there are a few German words in here I've added just for the sake of the characters being German. The same goes for whatever character appears and if they start speaking something other than English. I use Google Translate so I apologise if my phrases or sentence structure is a bit off. ****There will be translations at the bottom of every chapter. **

**I'm not sure how often I will update, what with second term starting soon and me in basically every honors class that eighth grade has to offer, but I expect towards the weekends or whenever I have time and ideas. Most everything I write is based off either a prompt, headcannon, or actual historical event that took place that I can fit in this timeline.**

**Yes, I do my research. :))))**

**Enjoy!**

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Frederick the Great

Berlin, Prussia

July 18,1740

Dear diary,

I was crowned king of Prussia only a few short months ago. Things happened in a bit of a blur so I haven't had enough time to write until now. Mein Gott, the throne is a hard place to rule! So many political leaders I have to constantly please, ceremonies to attend, documents to approve; the list goes on and on. I have a constant headache from the whines of government officials nagging me every waking moment. I don't know how Father did this for so long. I've only been ruling for two months and it's already hard enough.

But, I'm not necessarily alone.

A young boy never seems to leave me alone. I turn around and there he is again, as if he'd been there the whole time. Sometimes I blink and he's gone. He looks about eight or nine; a bit young to be in the palace. He has fair white skin and hair, but his eyes are the color of roses. There's always a devilish smile on his face, like he's planning a prank. He doesn't say anything, just stares at me.

Until today.

It was a normal day like any other, and I was heading off to another meeting with Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire's leaders. As I turned a corner I suddenly heard a small laugh and turned around to see the young boy again, standing behind the wall. His eyes grew wide when he saw me, and he ducked behind the corner again.

"Wait!" I commanded, and heard the shuffling feet halt. "Come back."

A few moments of silence passed until he peeked his head around the corner once again, red eyes studying my every move as I knelt to his level. "Come here little boy. I won't hurt you, ich verspreche."

The boy stared at me a moment longer before bouncing around the corner to stand in front of me. He wore a simple cloth tunic and rope belt with a dark cloak and boots. He smiled, "Hallo!"

"Hallo." So he did speak German. "Wie heißen Sie?"

"Gilbert."

"Hallo, Gilbert. My name is Frederick II. What are you doing in the palace?" I pondered at why a boy so young would be wandering around the palace grounds, especially without any guardians.

"I live here!" He said, the devilish grin never leaving his face.

"Wirklich?"

He nodded.

"And why are you following me around Gilbert?"

"Because Frederick told me you'd be my new Vati!"

I inclined my head. Frederick, as in my predecessor, was my father. He'd told me nothing of this young albino boy who I was supposed to foster. I felt a twinge of annoyance at a new task on top of my duties, but the boy was too interesting to ignore.

"Who are you, Gilbert?" I asked.

Gilbert smiled. "I am the awesome Prussia!"

At this point I was quite confused but his outburst.

"W-What?"

He nodded with a giggle. "Ja! I am the country and you are the king! We'll be best brohas, right? You can tell me what to do and I will do it! Well, most of the time. Okay, some of the time. If it is awesome enough, then ja." He paused for a moment, seeming to consider something. "Wait, didn't Frederick tell you about me?"

I shook my head in disbelief.

Gilbert looked hurt, "Gute Gott! But I am so awesome! Surely he talked about me!"

Again, I shook my head.

His shoulders fell with a sigh, "Maybe I need to be more awesome. Then people will talk about me!" The devilish smile returned. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off as a servant rounded the corner, a parcel in hand.

He bowed when I stood, "Your Highness, a letter came for you from your predecessor." He handed me the letter and I turned it over in my hands. My father's name was scrawled on the back in his flowing print. "He says he's sorry for the late information, but wishes you all the best of luck with the boy." The servant noticed Gilbert, looking up at him with big red eyes, "But I see you've already met him." The man bowed again before leaving the way he came, leaving Gilbert and I in the hallway.

"So," Gilbert piped up, "Are you going to read it or what?"

I glanced at a clock on the wall. I still had five minutes before I was supposed to meet the other rulers. With a deep sigh I tore open the wax seal and pulled out the single page letter from my father. I read aloud…

_Dear son, _

_I'm sure by now you've had some encounter or another with a young boy by the name of Gilbert. I assure you, whatever he tells you is the absolute truth. I met him when I began my reign as well as those before me. He is the very embodiment of the nation you now oversee. I, nor any other successor, is quite sure of how he exists, but in discussions with other national leaders, we know that they all have their own child who claims to be the country. They've proven themselves many times in predicting weather, economic troubles or heights, food shortage, conflict with other nations, and so on. No one knows how they came to be or how their lives are intertwined with the land, but they are. Gilbert is no exception. He will help you through tough decisions while you are acting as the king. Trust me, he may seem young but that boy knows more about how to lead a country than any of us do. Listen to what he has to say._

_He was quite young when I took the throne, and my predecessor told me that they grow in age and appearance based on how well the country thrives, and how much land they are in control of. Sadly, I could not raise Gilbert much in my time on the throne. I hope you can do better than I, and assist not only Gilbert, but the entire country and all its people into a great future._

_Your father, Frederick I_

I slowly put the letter back in the envelope and took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. This little boy… _the_ _country? _ I put my hand over my eyes and took a deep breath. The more I thought about it, raising him didn't seem so hard. I'd experienced young children my entire life and never had a problem with them. Usually they were easy to handle. Gilbert would be no different. And the thought of someone to help make the big decisions seemed like a welcome blessing. Plus there was something about the boy's personality that made me grow attached to him. I'd never had a son, and honestly I never plan to. But Gilbert drew me in with his devilish grin and determined red eyes.

"So Vati?" He said, and I looked down at him from underneath my hand. "What about that meeting?"

"Scheiße." I turned on my heel and walked quickly down the long hallway towards the lounge where they were waiting. Gilbert jogged to keep up with my long strides.

"Can I call you anything besides Frederick? Frederick is too long." Gilbert reached up and grabbed my hand as we walked.

"Call me anything you want. If I can call you Gil." I smirked.

Gilbert laughed. "Okay! Ja! You can call me Gil and I'll call you… Old Fritz!"

"Old Fritz?" I chuckled, "I'm twenty-eight!"

"Ja and I'm a bird." He gasped, "Fritz! Can I get a bird?"

We reached the door to the lounge, "We'll see." I said to him and opened the door.

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**_Translations: _  
Mein Gott!**: My God!

**Hallo**: Hello.

**Wie heißen Sie?**: What is your name?

**Wirklich?**: Really?

**Ja**: Yes.

**Gute Gott!**: Good God!

**Vati**: Father, Papa, Dad.

**Scheiße**: Shit.


End file.
